Just got an email from my auction agent

[Kamikaze_Pigeon]

Been car-less for a couple of years here in Japan, got sick of it and approached a company that mainly deals with exporting cars from Japan, but they sourced out a car for me for very very cheap. It's a Subaru Forester 2.0 turbo from 1999

tell me what you think before I go ahead with it!!!!! (it's got about 80,000 miles on the clock, which is a lot for over here) a few pics!!!

[Darrin]

Is it Tau Sales?

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by Darrin

Is it Tau Sales?

I've been tempted to deal with them several times. Do you have any experience with them??

BTW I think that particular car is called the "Gravel Express" in JPN. Awesome name IMHO.

[Kamikaze_Pigeon]

It's a company called "we'll planning"
Their office is just down the road from me, they are super super helpful.

[Piggymon]

VROOM VROOM !

[Desmo]

That looks wicked

My bro had a forester ages ago but it didn't look like that

[Del Lardo]

So why is 80 000 miles a lot over there? Do people tend not to drive very far?

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by Del Lardo

So why is 80 000 miles a lot over there? Do people tend not to drive very far?

There's literally nowhere to go, lol.
A collection of narrow islands+some of the worst traffic problems in the world+one of, if not THE, best public transport system in the world=low mileage cars.
Also the Japanese tend to consider something pre-owned as soiled or less than desireable. It's not a 100% blanket opinion, but the majority of the public look at used cars the way you or I would look at pre-owned socks. If things still work the way they did when I was there then the Shaken makes owning an older car less financial sense.....and the dealers operate a 100% buy back so lots of their lovely used cars can come here

[Kamikaze_Pigeon]

Originally Posted by A Place of Light

There's literally nowhere to go, lol.
A collection of narrow islands+some of the worst traffic problems in the world+one of, if not THE, best public transport system in the world=low mileage cars.
Also the Japanese tend to consider something pre-owned as soiled or less than desireable. It's not a 100% blanket opinion, but the majority of the public look at used cars the way you or I would look at pre-owned socks. If things still work the way they did when I was there then the Shaken makes owning an older car less financial sense.....and the dealers operate a 100% buy back so lots of their lovely used cars can come here

Yeah, the Shaken is a huge pain in the arse, has to be done every 2 years (older cars had to do them annually, but they changed that rule a few years ago) and can cost a lot if you pay a garage or dealer to do it for you (basically add an extra 60,000 yen on the bill for them to do it....I'm going to go the user shaken route for mine, it'll take a couple of hours and is full of form filling, but I'll save heaps) but the Shaken isn't just a super MOT, it also involves some tax and also the compulsory 3rd party insurance needed to drive on the road over here.

Just finished organizing the parking space (which you have to have before you can legally get a car over here) that also is a huge pain in the arse, I had to get 3 different forms from the police station to complete:

1. The actual application form for a proof of parking certificate.
2. A form where I have to draw 2 maps, 1 to show the location of my parking space and the 2nd a detailed map of the actual parking space (including dimensions)
3. A form that I have to ask my landlord to complete proving that I am renting the parking space form him.

And this is just the start......a lot of paperwork!!!!!!

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by Kamikaze_Pigeon

Yeah, the Shaken is a huge pain in the arse, has to be done every 2 years (older cars had to do them annually, but they changed that rule a few years ago)

That's interesting, as it's not the way I understood it. I was under the impression that for at least the last 20 years you "got" 3 years Shaken with a new car then you renewed it every 2 years after that. That's why all freshly imported cars were either 3/5/7/9 etc years old. The proof of parking comment you made reminded me of the Kei cars and their raison d'etre.....some of them are cracking little cars á la Cappucino/Copen etc.